Hot Dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
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| Hot Dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| VR/AR | VR |
| Developer | RUST LTD. |
| Publisher | RUST LTD. |
| Platform | SteamVR |
| Device | HTC Vive, Valve Index, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality and other SteamVR headsets |
| Operating System | Windows |
| Type | Full Game |
| Genre | Action, Indie, Simulation, VR |
| Input Device | Tracked motion controllers |
| Play Area | Room-Scale |
| Game Mode | Single Player |
| Language | English |
| Version | 1.0 (Update 120) |
| Review | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Release Date | Apr 5, 2016 (Early Access); Jul 4, 2026 (1.0) |
| Price | $19.99 |
| App Store | Steam |
| Website | https://h3vr.com |
| Infobox Updated | 09/29/2026 |
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades (titled Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades on Steam and usually shortened to H3VR) is a single-player virtual reality game for PC VR headsets, developed and published by RUST LTD. It is a firearms sandbox: players handle a large collection of simulated guns, attachments, explosives and melee weapons on shooting ranges and in a set of game modes in which the enemies are sentient hot dogs rather than human targets.[1][2]
Anton Hand of RUST LTD. released the game on Steam Early Access on 5 April 2016, the launch day of the original HTC Vive.[3] It stayed in Early Access for more than ten years and reached its 1.0 release with Update 120, its 120th numbered update, on 4 July 2026.[4][5] The game is sold on Steam for Windows PCs with SteamVR headsets and remained a PC VR exclusive, with no release on Meta's standalone Quest headsets.[6] A sequel, Hot Dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades 2, was announced in May 2026 for Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S and PC VR.[6]
Gameplay
H3VR is played standing or in a room-scale space with tracked motion controllers; Steam lists it as single-player and VR-only.[1] Firearms are operated by hand: in a 2016 preview, Gaming Nexus described loading magazines, working slides and disengaging safeties, and noted that the game had little in-game documentation or tutorial at the time.[7] The current Steam description lists more than 600 firearms and 250 attachments, with custom loadouts that can be saved and shared.[1] RUST LTD.'s press kit counts more than 150 cartridges, more than 60 melee weapons, over 30 "toys" such as fireworks and noisemakers, more than 20 game modes and "0 Human Targets".[2]
The enemies are AI-controlled hot dog characters that the developer calls Sosigs; they can be fought at range or in melee.[1][4] UploadVR noted in 2019 that the game has no multiplayer and that the sausage-like agents are "a long way from resembling humans".[8]
The Steam store page describes these main areas and modes:[1]
| Mode or scene | Description |
|---|---|
| Firing and demolitions ranges | Ranges for testing weapons, plus the M.E.A.T.S. target shooting trainer with global leaderboards |
| Take & Hold | A sci-fi action roguelite in which the player captures and defends control points, destroys "Encryption Targets" and spends earned tokens in item shops between waves |
| Return of the Rotwieners | An exploration and crafting mode set around the town of Wienerton, overrun by undead "Rotwieners" |
| Meat Fortress | A combat arena made with Valve's permission as a homage to Team Fortress 2, with parodies of its nine classes and VR versions of its original weapons |
| Wurstwurld | A ruined amusement park with puzzles, horseshoe challenges and robot bandits |
| Meat Grinder | A flashlight-lit fast-food-themed maze; Steam calls it the first game mode added to H3VR, in 2016 |
| Holiday events | Seasonal modes, including the Meatmas Firearm Advent Calendar |
Update 120 added two variants of Take & Hold: Blitz, which focuses on attacking points with dense patrols, and Rampart, which focuses on holding defense. It also added a Sandbox option and the loot-driven "Lucky Looter" character.[4][5] The final new scene in the release, the BBQ Range, is a backyard sandbox with plinking, fireworks and horseshoes.[4]
Development
The RUST LTD. website lists Adam Sulzdorf-Liszkiewicz as CEO, Anton Hand as CTO, Lucas Miller as president and Luke Noonan as co-founder.[9] The H3VR press kit credits Hand as lead designer, lead developer and lead artist, Sulzdorf-Liszkiewicz with writing and worldbuilding, Miller with 2D art, writing and programming, and Noonan with writing and community management. The game is built in Unity.[2] In 2019 Hand described the project as "what happens when four best friends who went to art school make a game about guns."[8]
Early Access launch
According to Hand, the Early Access release came about after test footage he uploaded in early 2016, showing him experimenting with gun models in VR, drew viewers who asked for something they could play when the HTC Vive launched. He planned to ship the "beginning structure of an early access game" and to be open about updating it frequently.[10] The Voices of VR podcast states that the first version went on sale after seven weeks of development, as a sandbox with a handful of guns, lawn games, cooking and ordnance.[11] Road to VR noted that the Vive was then the only consumer VR headset with native motion controllers.[3]
Update model
At launch, Hand promised weekly updates and weekly videos.[10] UploadVR reported in 2019 that all of the game's more than 70 updates had been released free of charge. Hand told the site: "I've joked for a while that we're a live service game that you only pay for once", and said he found the industry's monetization strategies "sort of predatory".[10] The same article reported that the game had never been on sale, that RUST LTD. had originally planned to leave Early Access in 2018, and that the Take & Hold mode began as Hand's lighting test with a modular hallway kit. Update 52 took about three months and was, in Hand's words, "the most extensive refactor of the game's systems that it ever got".[10] One December, Hand released an update every day from 1 to 25 December as an advent calendar.[10]
RUST LTD.'s press kit lists Steam as the game's only platform.[2] According to Voices of VR, Hand decided in 2016 not to explicitly support any Facebook APIs or hardware beyond what the cross-platform SteamVR APIs provide. In that August 2020 interview, recorded after Facebook announced that new Oculus hardware would require Facebook accounts, Hand described the game as being in "perpetual early access".[12] Hand also maintained for years that H3VR could not run on standalone headsets.[6]
Notable updates
| Update | Date | Main additions |
|---|---|---|
| Update 72 | 2019 | Formal support for Valve Index controllers[8] |
| Update 73, "Meat Fortress" | 28 June 2019 | Weapons from Team Fortress 2, a new sandbox map and game modes, officially sanctioned by Valve[8] |
| Update 111, "Institution" | 1 December 2023 | The Institution level for Take & Hold, new enemies and hazards, and the "Tournament Toby" character[13] |
| Update 114, "The Night Vision Update" | 20 October 2024 | Night vision goggles, thermal devices and night vision and thermal scopes, plus Sosig AI improvements[14] |
| Update 115, "The BULLSHOOT Update" | 14 December 2024 | BULLSHOOT, a game mode of 15 chapters of shooting challenges and puzzles[15] |
| Update 118, "The Reflex Sight Update" | 21 June 2025 | Reflex sight overhaul, the FNVG and PNV57E night vision devices and new LPVO scopes[16] |
| Update 119, "The 4th Of July Update" | 4 July 2025 | New Take & Hold level and characters, new grenade types, and an announcement of plans to leave Early Access[17] |
| Update 120 (1.0) | 4 July 2026 | Take & Hold variants, Lucky Looter, H3VR Studio, Steam Workshop sharing, the Gameplanner system and the BBQ Range[4] |
| Update 120 Patch 4 (experimental branch) | 26 September 2026 | Steam Frame controller models, control bindings and platform detection[18] |
1.0 release
With Update 119 on 4 July 2025, Hand announced that the game would come out of Early Access later that year.[17] Update 120 was tested on the game's experimental branch from October 2025, and UploadVR counted 23 versions of it before the full release.[5] Hand wrote that the update was meant to give the creator community "a solidified codebase, tools and toys". He said H3VR had been in "'Absurdly Late Access' for a very long time".[4] Along with the Take & Hold changes, 1.0 included H3VR Studio, an authoring app for Take & Hold characters and challenges, equipment pools, Sosig outfits, and custom guns and scenarios. With it came full Steam Workshop support for sharing that content, and the Gameplanner system, which lets players wire objects together into devices and scenarios.[4] Road to VR reported that initial Steam Workshop support had arrived in May 2026.[3]
Hand said the 1.0 release "isn't the END end": bugs remained to be fixed, the creation tools were being opened to more players, a credits scene was still unfinished, and support for Valve's upcoming Steam Frame was planned.[4] Patches to Update 120 followed in July and August 2026.[19][20] On 26 September 2026 an experimental-branch patch added Steam Frame controller models, control bindings and platform detection, for both PC streaming and native play on the headset. Hand said he would move it to the main branch after wider testing.[18] In May 2026 he had told Road to VR that RUST LTD. would keep supporting the game with bug fixes and platform maintenance "for the foreseeable future".[6]
Release
| Version | Date | Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Access | 5 April 2016 | Steam (SteamVR, Windows) | Released on the launch day of the HTC Vive[3] |
| 1.0 (Update 120) | 4 July 2026 | Steam (SteamVR, Windows) | Left Early Access after more than ten years[4][3] |
The game costs US$19.99 on Steam, the same price UploadVR reported in 2019.[1][8] Steam lists the game as SteamVR only and names the Oculus Rift, Rift S, Quest, Quest 2, HTC Vive, Vive Pro, Vive Pro 2, Vive Cosmos and first- and second-generation Windows Mixed Reality headsets. It recommends a room-scale area of 2 m by 1.5 m, and the only listed language is English.[1] In July 2025 Hand said night vision goggle placement was "completely broken" on WMR headsets and might not be fixable because of WMR's deprecation.[17]
Reception
H3VR has no Metascore; Metacritic lists it without critic reviews.[21] As of September 2026, Steam showed an "Overwhelmingly Positive" user rating from more than 23,000 reviews.[1] In its 2016 Early Access preview, Gaming Nexus wrote, "This small team has gone and made an incredible game with a lot of polish and thought in simulating real life firearms" and called it "a definite pickup for Vive owners".[7] UploadVR's 2019 feature on the game's update model credited it with "exhaustive dedication to iterative improvement".[10] When the game reached 1.0, Road to VR wrote that it had grown "from a simple VR firearms sandbox into one of VR's deepest sims".[3]
Sequel
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades 2 was revealed on 6 May 2026 at the Creature Feature & Friends showcase. Unlike the original, it is coming to Quest 3 and Quest 3S as well as PC VR through Steam. Road to VR described it as a "full fledged" extraction shooter.[6] Hand told Road to VR that Meta had given the studio "a significant amount of support" and that the sequel is "not a port".[6] On 23 September 2026 he set a Quest 3 release date of 12 November 2026 and opened pre-orders; the PC VR version is planned for the second half of 2027.[22]
Review (2016)
I’m convinced that VR developers do their utmost best to actually come up with some of the most bizarre and strange titles for their games I’ve ever seen, but considering that Hot Dogs, Horseshoes, and Hand Grenades is a great title for the HTC Vive and it gives you the true feeling of what it is like to handle a gun; without physically being in a shooting range with a revolver, it’s hard to complain.
This game manages to convey gunplay so incredibly well, that at times it’s hard to recall that you were playing a game in the first place. Effectively, the majority of the game is giving you access to a whole host of weapons for you to enjoy and then give you the opportunity to play around with them, see how they feel, and test out your accuracy with them.
Currently the game is in Early Access on Steam, but even despite that fact and the controversy that surrounds Early Access at times; this here is a game that is being continually developed and improved by its developer. Every single week when the developer makes a new update for the game, they’ll produce a video displaying exactly what has happened and gone on in the update and it is a quick and efficient way of explaining just how far the game has come and improved.
I can’t personally say that I’ve ever handled a real firearm in my life, but from what I’ve seen of this game and some of the other experiences people have been having with it in the past few weeks, this here is a game that comes as close to the general article as possible right now. Weapons have the sort of recoil and fire power that you would expect from such a firearm, even if you are shooting them at hot dogs wearing a helmet.
That’s another elements of this title that I really do appreciate: the humour. Pretty much everywhere you look you’ve got something you can have a bit of a giggle or a laugh at. For crying out loud, you can attach the American flag to your automatic rifle, all because you can! If you’re not feeling the national pride, you can play some bowling with live hand grenades, to see just how much more enjoyable that sport can become with live explosives.
From a visual perspective, the game is visually pretty stunning; from the rustic, sci-fi setting that your environment is based upon; to the weapons that have more detail than you would originally realise, until you spend some time inspecting them from top to bottom to see just how similar they are to their real world counterparts. Either way you look at it from a visual and aesthetic standpoint, you’ve got one good looking VR game here; one that is constantly being improved day after day with new content, bug fixes, and general improvements.
Currently one of the only downsides that the game has right now is one that won’t apply to everybody, but it will affect a fairly large majority to some degree. The fact that the game is a room-scale VR FPS, it means that manipulating your own, personal environment is key to being able to get the full experience, and no one wants to have to move around their furniture or their PC to play a video game. Again, this isn’t a problem for everybody who will purchase the game, but it is a fairly important factor to keep in mind before you purchase the game for yourself.
Overall, Hot Dogs, Horseshoes, and Hand Grenades is easily one of the best FPS VR titles currently out at the moment and it’s not even finished yet! Obviously the game isn’t perfect, which can be seen by the fact that it is still in Early Access at the time of writing, but when you consider just how incredibly fun and enjoyable it is to fire each and every weapon in this game; be it a tiny pistol or a large calibre sniper rifle, you’re going to be having a good time. Not to mention that the developer has the complete intention to continuously update the game on a regular basis, the amount of extra content you’ll be getting from the time of purchase is near exponential. Simply put, this right here is a must-have VR game!
Description
Do you like hotdogs? How about horseshoes? Hand grenades? (everyone likes hand grenades) Anyway, we got all that, and guns. So if you like cooking, lawn games, and ordnance, this is the VR sandbox game for you.
Hot dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades is a lazy Sunday trip over to your friends house… if your friend was a retired gun-nut with a warehouse full of toys, a few irritating robot pets, and a grill that’s always running. Head on over to the firing range and learn to operate an arsenal full of firearms, compete in structured challenges with global leaderboards. Relax next to the grill, preparing virtual meats, while fending off the ‘wild life’. Or have some friends over and take turns playing classic ‘murican lawn games while making an ass of yourself!
H3VR(for short), is the heaping pile of our mad obsessive VR experiments. This is very much an impressionistically developed experience, so expect it to mutate, expand, contract, somersault, and occasionally explode along the way to final release.
Key Features:
- Roomscale VR Experience designed for the HTC Vive.
- Multiple shooting and demolitions ranges from realist to fantastical.
- Timed challenges with global leaderboards.
- Accurate simulations of historical, modern and futuristic weapons.
- Authentic ‘Murican BBQ experience with obsessively detailed grilling simulation.
- Hot-seat(or hot-headset rather) multiplayer classic lawn games like horseshoes, bocce, lawn darts and more.
- An detailed rusty scifi world set in a surreal irreverent vision of the future United States of ‘Murica.
- And whatever other madness we see fit to add!
Features
System Requirements
Requirements as listed on the Steam store page in September 2026:[1]
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 8.1 or later, Windows 10 | Windows 8.1 or later, Windows 10 |
| Processor | Intel i5-4590, AMD FX 8350 equivalent or better | Intel i5-6600 or better |
| Memory | 12 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | GTX 1060/970, R9 290 equivalent or better | GTX 1080/980TI, Radeon RX Vega 4GB or better |
| DirectX | Version 11 | Version 11 |
| Storage | 25 GB available space | 20 GB available space |
| VR support | SteamVR only; standing room minimum | Room scale 2m by 1.5m area strongly recommended |
| Additional notes | SSD or cache-assisted HDD required; Windows virtual memory must be enabled (16 GB recommended) | Internal SSD highly recommended; Windows virtual memory must be enabled (16 GB recommended) |
Setup Instructions
Images and Videos
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/450540/Hot_Dogs_Horseshoes__Hand_Grenades/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades - Press Kit". RUST LTD.. https://press.rustltd.com/h3vr. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Scott Hayden (2026-07-06). "Veteran VR Shooter 'Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades' Finally Leaves Early Access". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/vr-shooter-hot-dogs-horseshoes-hand-grenades-1-0-release/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Anton Hand (2026-07-04). "Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades 1.0 (Update 120) is now Live!". Steam Community. https://steamcommunity.com/games/450540/announcements/detail/703272148131647718. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Mike Johnson (2026-07-06). "Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Leaves Early Access After 10 Years". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/hots-dogs-horseshoes-and-hand-grenades-leaves-early-access-after-ten-years/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Scott Hayden (2026-05-06). "Sequel to Acclaimed VR Shooter 'Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades' Coming to Quest & PC VR". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/h3vr-2-quest-steam-release-date-trailer/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 John Yan (2016-08-07). "Hot Dogs, Horseshoes, and Hand Grenades". Gaming Nexus. https://www.gamingnexus.com/Article/5192/Hot-Dogs2c-Horseshoes2c-and-Hand-Grenades/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Ian Hamilton (2019-06-28). "Hot Dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades Update Adds Original Guns From Valve's Team Fortress 2". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/h3vr-meat-fortress/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "RUST LTD.". RUST LTD.. https://rustltd.com/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Jonny Foster (2019-06-28). "How These VR Developers Keep Fans Happy With Free Iterative Updates". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/how-these-vr-developers-keep-fans-happy-with-free-updates/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Kent Bye (2026-05-10). "#1717: H3VR 10-Year Retrospective with Anton Hand: Origins, Design, & Evolution of "Hot Dogs, Horseshoes, & Hand Grenades"". Voices of VR Podcast. https://voicesofvr.com/1717-h3vr-10-year-retrospective-with-anton-hand-origins-design-evolution-of-hot-dogs-horseshoes-hand-grenades/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Kent Bye (2020-08-21). "#936: Indie Dev Anton Hand on Resisting the Facebook Panopticon". Voices of VR Podcast. https://voicesofvr.com/936-indie-dev-anton-hand-on-resisting-the-facebook-panopticon/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Anton Hand (2023-12-01). "Update 111 - INSTITUTION - Is Live!". Steam Community. https://steamcommunity.com/games/450540/announcements/detail/3878224909263601768. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Anton Hand (2024-10-20). "Update 114 - The Night Vision Update - is now Live!". Steam Community. https://steamcommunity.com/games/450540/announcements/detail/4531276022276059384. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Anton Hand (2024-12-14). "Update 115 - The BULLSHOOT Update - is now Live!". Steam Community. https://steamcommunity.com/games/450540/announcements/detail/655933719785243723. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Anton Hand (2025-06-21). "Update 118, The Reflex Sight Update, is now Live!!!". Steam Community. https://steamcommunity.com/games/450540/announcements/detail/510709651799540019. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Anton Hand (2025-07-04). "Update 119, The 4th Of July Update, is now Live!!!". Steam Community. https://steamcommunity.com/games/450540/announcements/detail/510710285788515723. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Anton Hand (2026-09-26). "Update 120p4 - Steam Frame Support Patch LIVE on the Experimental Branch!". Steam Community. https://steamcommunity.com/games/450540/announcements/detail/706658093186942552. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Anton Hand (2026-07-10). "Update 120 Patch 1 is now Live!". Steam Community. https://steamcommunity.com/games/450540/announcements/detail/714532596095124499. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Anton Hand (2026-08-29). "Update 120 Patch 3 is now LIVE!". Steam Community. https://steamcommunity.com/games/450540/announcements/detail/698774255287927286. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/hot-dogs-horseshoes-and-hand-grenades/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Mike Johnson (2026-09-23). "Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades 2 Launches On Quest 3 In November". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/hot-dogs-horseshoes-hand-grenades-2-launches-on-quest-3-in-november/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.